


I'm so sorry

by themerrymutants



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, this is written before Centi's gem was revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-08-08 18:12:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7768090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themerrymutants/pseuds/themerrymutants
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An excited Steven, both wanting Serpentine to leave her room for a minute, and wanting her to see that he'd managed to partially uncorrupt a gem introduces her to Centipeetle. Unbeknownst to him the pair already know each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm so sorry

Tanzanite had been gone for a while. Not that it was too unusual if she were honest it just worried her sometimes. Plus, she missed him when he was gone, things were a lot lonelier without him. A lot quieter too. Still she waited, quietly and patiently. He’d come back. He _always_ came back, even if it wasn’t for long, he always came back. Part of her still worried though. What if he got hurt or cracked? What if he got poofed and captured? Or… No! That’d never happen. Never, ever, _ever_.

She had busied herself by holing herself up in her room just going over her old records. The ones that chronicled her ~~mis~~ adventures with her long-time friend and guard. It was almost like he was home. _Almost_. She did continue to make sure that what went on was recorded for him so he could learn what he’d missed while he was gone. She wouldn’t want him to miss out on anything, especially when so many interesting things went on.

Speaking of which….

“Serp! I did it!” Steven called excitedly from just outside the door to her room. “I healed a corruption!”

Reluctantly she put away her records and left her room to see…She froze at the strange sight in front of her. A gem stuck somewhere between corruption and who she’d been was sitting on the couch trilling cheerily at Steven. That wasn’t what had caught her attention though. It was the now partially healed Centipeetle’s gem. She recognized it now or was at least fairly certain she did.

Almost as if they were moving of their own accord her legs carried her closer to the half healed corruption until she found herself kneeling next to Steven.

“H-hi…” she said to the gem giving her an awkward wave hello. Keep it together. Keep it together. No need to frighten the poor dear, or Steven for that matter. “I’m Serp-“

The gem, let out a series of squawks and trills as she looked between Steven and Serpentine. Centipeetle looked back to Steven motioning furiously to her and Serpentine.

“Um…You and Serp?”

She nodded clasping her hands together.

“Um…hand holding..uh-“

“She was my friend Steven,” she murmured, a tear streaking down her cheek. “I knew her back on Homeworld.”

Centi nodded vigorously before clasping one of Serp’s hands in her own. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t do this. But she couldn’t move either. This was her friend. What sort of friend reacted like this when seeing their friend for the first time in…far too long?

A terrible one.

She gave Centi’s hand a half-hearted squeeze. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room until Steven spoke up again.

“Centi can you write? You can’t really talk but maybe we could talk this way!” Steven said offering her a crayon and some paper.

The gem nodded taking both.

“I’m Steven,” he said as he wrote his name down holding it up to her when he’d finished.

-I’m Serpentine. A bit younger than Serpy,- she wrote in surprisingly neat script. Which was met with Serp blinking back tears and Steven cocking his head in confusion.

“Um..ok let’s try drawing!” Again Steven showed her an example and the other Serpentine again obliged.

As much as Serp wanted to leave she couldn’t. She needed to know what had happened to her friend. So, quietly, she watched as the story unfolded or tried to.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured as she suddenly rose to her feet and bolted back to her room. Almost immediately after the door shut behind her she fell to her knees sobbing. Tanz had saved her from that fate but who was supposed to have saved the others?


End file.
